The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 26

March 16, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 10 Opinions There needs to be more organization in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout Officials have repeatedly dropped the ball when it comes to COVID-19 response efforts, and unfortunately, it seems that the vaccine rollout is no exception. Since the beginning of the vaccine rollout, the only citizens eligible to be vaccinated are seniors, healthcare professionals and those deemed extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. It makes perfect sense to prioritize those in our communities who are the most susceptible to the effects of the virus, but what doesn’t make sense is that we’ve made virtually no progress since the vaccine was first released. How is it that it has been months since this process began and no other demographics are eligible yet? How and why are we moving so slowly? Some vaccination locations have reported having to toss doses that expired too quickly before they could get enough of them administered to people. Some people have been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and receive one of the vaccines that otherwise would’ve been thrown out. The sytem is clearly disorganized, and worse, it has exploits. In the last few months, stories have come out about people who are ineligible in their own state coming to Florida just to get the vaccine, and they succeeded because there’s no proper verification process. Some people have even gotten doses set aside for them by friends or family members that work at distribution centers. There are doses going to waste, and doses being taken by people who are essentially “skipping the line,” all while millions of Floridians are waiting to even be eligible. As one of the millions of Americans who With the pandemic and the 2020 presidential election, we can all agree on one thing: there’s a divide inbetween our country. While our differences are meant to keep up learning, growing, evolving as a society, they are being used against us. We’ve seen the rise of “cancel culture”. Dozens of individuals and companies either “canceled” or ostracized or forced to change themselves to please everyone. From banned books and music to changes in toys and brandings, we’re definitely making differences, but are they all for the better? Have we become too sensitive? Recently, in my journalism class while discussing the topic of food writing -- a topic that, to me, had seemed so innocent -- our professor advised us against writing anything that could offend someone or be taken in a bad way. While I know there are things that are morally wrong, no matter how you spin it, what’s happening to our freedom of expression, our freedom of speech in this country? It’s our First Amendment, yet we’re being asked to remain silent as we walk around the eggshells that our society is becoming. In all honesty, I hesitated to write about this topic, fearing that, while I have no malintent or mean to disrespect anyone, someone could read it and try to ‘cancel’me. It’s wrong to live in that fear. We all have rights as human beings, not even just as citizens of this country, to be exactly who we are, regardless of race, gender, culture or experiences. We’re supposed to be the United States of America, but lately, it just feels like we are all so divided, skin turned so sensitive and even the smallest breezes of spoken words cut like knives. Will there come a point where we lead ourselves into a dystopian world like the ones we’ve read so much about? How do we stop ourselves from getting there before it’s too late? We’re all different, with different ideas, beliefs and values, but that’s what makes us us. That’s what makes us human. It’s time for us to remember our humanity. It’s time for us to be empathetic and understanding towards others because, in different perspectives, we are others. It’s time to listen to each other instead of just canceling anything and everything that thinks slightly different than we do. We need to build back our strengths before it is too late. By: Nyla White Contributing Writer Have we become too sensitive? By: Flor Ana Mireles Copy Editor has taken this pandemic seriously and has been boarded up in their house for the better part of a year, it definitely stings to watch this be handled so poorly. Not to mention, having to see some of the same government leaders who originally downplayed the severity of COVID-19 be the first in line to get the vaccine. With the third FDA-approved vaccine being approved this week and more vaccination locations opening up, hopefully, we’ll start to see a turn in the tide. Though at this point, it seems like our only real options are to keep putting our lives on pause and to cross our fingers that our leaders get their acts together -- or you could hang out outside your local pharmacy and hope they have an expiring vaccine they need to get off of their hands. Shark Speak Question: Do you feel the NSU student body is doing its part to slow the spread of COVID-19? 45% said Yes. 55% said No. “I’m getting ads for parties and party busses from my classmates each week, and they gave me slack at the beginning of the fall semester for warning them about COVID-19 rules down here. I also see Snapchat stories of people at parties every week without fail,” said freshman Kaylee Hilyer, sociology major. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF C. MCLAUGHLIN